Hawks make early exit

TACOMA — It was a bad case of deja vu for Mountlake Terrace’s boys basketball team.

Less than 24 hours after a tough first half resulted in a loss in their Class 4A state tournament opener, the Hawks came out sluggishly against Central Kitsap in a loser-out contest March 11 at the Tacoma Dome.

As it did a day earlier, Mountlake Terrace staged a furious second-half rally but still came up short, dropping a 58-49 contest to the Cougars.

The Hawks shot a tepid 17 percent in the first half against Central Kitsap after making only 27 percent of their shots a day earlier in the first half against South Kitsap.

“We just never got into a consistent flow down here offensively,” said Mountlake Terrace coach Nalin Sood. “We did not shoot the basketball very good.”

Central Kitsap closed out the first quarter with a 12-2 run to take a 16-9 lead into the second period. The Cougars extended their lead to 27-11 before the Hawks rallied to cut the deficit to 31-19 at halftime.

“We were forcing … outside shots,” said junior forward Mike Boxley. “That’s what they wanted us to do. Our strong point was when we attack. We’re a quick team and we needed to attack the basketball.”

A 10-0 run to start the third quarter by Mountlake Terrace cut the deficit to 31-29. Central Kitsap was held without a field goal until junior forward Glen Perkins made a layup at the 2:08 mark.

The Hawks’ offensive success in the period helped fuel their defense.

“We were more aggressive in going to the basket,” Sood said. “Our shot selection was better and I think when we made shots it increased our defensive tenacity, our defensive aggressiveness. Our defensive aggressiveness was just better because we made shots.”

Central Kitsap took a 38-32 lead into the fourth quarter and saw its lead cut to 43-42 on a pair of free throws by junior center Leigh Swanson. The Cougars then responded with a 6-0 run to take a 49-42 advantage with just over three minutes remaining in the game.

The closest Mountlake Terrace would get the rest of the game was five points.

“Defensively we did a better job tonight. Not quitting we did a better job,” Sood said. “We did a good job trying to get the press going and changing the pace of the basketball game. We just dug too deep a hole again … I’m disappointed that we just didn’t get it done the whole way in either game.”

Mountlake Terrace rallied from a 20-point second half deficit in its opener and had a chance to tie the score but misfired on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

While disappointed not to have come away with a victory, Sood took some solace in his players’ efforts, especially against Central Kitsap. Sood has seen other teams give up once they’ve gotten down in a loser-out game but that did not happen with the Hawks.

“When you measure a basketball team, you measure their character,” Sood said. “This team, just about when people are ready to turn the machine off, you found out that they still had a pulse in both games. That’s something as a coach you feel good about. They could have rolled over … they just would not quit and as a coach that’s something you preach all the time.”

Junior center Leigh Swanson scored a game-high 15 points and junior guard Adrian Blake added 11.

Mountlake Terrace limited Central Kitsap senior guard Brice Brooks, who averaged 17.6 points per game, to 13 points.

“I was really pleased about what we did on Brooks,” Sood said.

The loss meant the end of the high school careers for a pair of seniors — Sam Stapleton and Michael Arquillano —two players Sood never envisioned being a part of the varsity program.

When he first saw them as freshmen, Sood had his doubts on both.

“I just didn’t think they were good enough,” he said. “They only got there (varsity) because of work ethic … if a young kid ever wanted to model their game after people, it should be after Sam Stapleton and Michael Arquillano, two kids that worked unbelievably hard.”